Most fuses are currently made by adopting chip-resistor manufacturing methods, and they have only one layer of printed fuse wire. Though the fuse wire so manufactured can be patterned in such various forms as straight, battlement-shaped or serpentine line, it is limited in total length and unable to be used on many occasions when high anti-surge capability is required. There exists other types of fuses. They have multiple layers of printed fuse wire, and are able to be used on many occasions when high anti-surge capability is required. Specifically, these fuses have a monolithic structure that consists of three or more layers of glass ceramic, each layer having been deposited with a metal film. These monolithic structure fuses are covered with a conductive layer at both ends, which are bridged by the metal films lying in parallel in between. These monolithic structure fuses are manufactured as follows: a metal film is deposited on the green body of the substrate made of glass ceramic, and wet tape-casting technology is thereafter adopted to form a very thin layer of glass ceramic thereupon; the same process is repeated so that a desired number of layers is obtained. After a monolithic green body is obtained, it is subject to horizontal and vertical cutting so that the green bodies of independent fuses are formed. The green bodies are then sintered into ceramic, and then the two end are encapsulated by electroplating.
The manufacturing method of the monolithic structure is a complicated process, requiring a large investment on equipment, and having a long manufacturing duration, which makes it difficult to use extensively.